Thodey tipped to top Telstra today

Stan Beer
Friday, 08 May 2009 02:56

IT Industry - Strategy

Telstra's presiding mobile boss David Thodey has been informally named as the new CEO of the carrier, an appointment that is expected to be officially confirmed today.

According to a report on the ABC Lateline program on national TV last night, New Zealand born Thodey will take over on July 1, after the departure of US import Sol Trujillo.

Thodey's appointment sees Telstra once again return to a policy of promoting from withing instead of casting its net overseas in an expensive head hunt for senior talent.

Thodey, who beat rivals Telstra CFO John Stanhope and division bosses David Moffat (consumer marketing) and Bruce Akhurst (Sensis) among others, could lay claim to the fact that before joining Telstra in April 2001, he held the top job at IBM Australia and New Zealand, a substantial organisation of 10,000.

The appointment is also widely being seen as a move by Telstra to repair its fractured relationship with the Federal Government, after the disastrous tenure of Trujillo.

During Trujillo's reign, Telstra's share price has plummeted and the company's government relations, regardless of the political party in power, has hit an all-time low. Telstra's exclsuyion from the NBN process was seen as the final nail in the coffin for Trujillo.

The appointment of 54 year old Thodey is likely to be warmly received by the market as few could argue that he isn't a good fit for the job.